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Nuggets hold off Rockets for first road victory of season

Denver Nuggets' Danilo Gallinari drives to the basket against Houston Rockets' Chandler Parsons in the first half on Wednesday in Houston. (Pat Sullivan, The Associated Press)

HOUSTON — It's a battle only Ty Lawson can control. When to push, when to set up, when to attack.

At times, Denver needs its speedy point guard to guide intricate offensive sets, find open teammates and slowly pick apart an opposing defense. Other moments require cutthroat precision. Lawson must make split-second decisions, selfishly choosing to sprint toward an open basket or release an arcing 3-pointer as soon as he sees a temporary opening.

Lawson dominated his personal battle Wednesday, pouring in a game-high 21 points and dishing out eight assists during Denver's 93-87 victory over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Lawson exposed Houston point guard Jeremy Lin in the process, limiting his counterpart to just six points on 2-of-9 shooting.

The Denver Post's Benjamin Hochman posts analysis, notes and more on this blog focussing on the Denver Nuggets.

Early in the game, Nuggets coach George Karl believed Lawson was settling: deferring instead of distributing, reacting instead of attacking. Lawson responded with a second-quarter outburst, unloading 14 points in 3:21. He buried two 3s and made three layups, consistently blowing by Lin.

By the time Lawson's burn was over, it was 54-39 Nuggets, and Denver (2-3) was sprinting toward its first road victory.

"That's what I've been battling with: When to turn it on and when to let everybody else get involved," Lawson said. "Coach just wanted me to get involved early and that, I guess, forces the action and makes everybody else better. I'm going to try to do that from now on."

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Carlos Delfino's 19 points topped the Rockets (2-2), while James Harden and Lin were held to a combined 21 points on 7-of-24 shooting.

Star guard Andre Iguodala had yet to assert himself through four games, while Denver had struggled offensively — averaging just 97.3 points and shooting 27.4 percent behind the 3-point line — and ranked 20th out of 30 teams in points allowed (100.5).

A sharper, more focused Nuggets squad immediately attacked the Rockets. Feeding off dribble penetration and forward Kenneth Faried's gutsy inside game, Denver dictated the tempo for the majority of the game.

"I just felt the whole game that Kenneth had a spirit that he was going to win this game," Karl said. "He wanted to be a factor at the beginning of the game. He was pretty incredible."

A swished 3-pointer from the right wing by Iguodala propelled Denver to an early 16-13 advantage. A layup by Faried set up by a smooth Danillo Gallinari assist then pushed the Nuggets' lead to 23-15 with 2:15 left in the first quarter.

"I thought the first half was probably our best basketball ... that we've played in a while," Karl said.

The Rockets briefly fired up. Spurred by a 12-2 run late in the third quarter, Houston pulled within 63-61.

But the Nuggets responded with a confident 15-8 run of their own, and everyone from Corey Brewer to Iguodala made sure a deep Denver team returned home with a road victory.

"We're not polished yet, but we can still get a win," Karl said. "I think we can look at it in a positive way."

Nuggets Recap

What you might have missed: Nuggets swingman Wilson Chandler (hip) was inactive Wednesday. Center Timofey Mozgov didn't play. ... Denver center JaVale McGee scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and grabbed six rebounds (four offensive) during the first half. ... Corey Brewer scored seven of the Nuggets' 11 points during a run that bridged the end of the third quarter with the start of the fourth.

Final thought: Denver's depth came to life, while Houston's Jeremy Lin and James Harden never showed up.